On 14 July 2008 President George W. Bush lifted the executive order banning US off-shore drilling. In response to President Bush's call to Congress to also lift its ban, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) gave the Democrat response. Without any viable explanation, his response was and is "NO!" More concerned with continuing to receive funding from far-left and anti-anything-that will-help-America sources than lowering pump prices to American citizens and supporting energy independence for the USA, Reid is making his stand. It's just an abject shame that his position is against America and the will of its people. And with his and other Congressional Democrat leaders' posture against growing the USA's independence from foreign oil, Middle Eastern terrorists are being supported — with oil monies sent overseas instead of remaining in the US.

Out of one side of his mouth Sen. Reid says ""Let's begin the discussion here by saying, Democrats support domestic production" and out of the other — in an attempt to switch targets and confuse the public — he rejects the president's proposal for more domestic drilling and says "We need to crack down on excessive speculation." This comment from power-saturated Reid is supposed to silence We-the-People from calling our elected representatives and telling them we want offshore drilling as well as drilling in the Rocky Mountains Green River Formation — said to be the largest oil reserve in the world! According to a 2007 press release the Bureau of Land Management says that Green River "holds the equivalent of 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil — as much as the U.S. would use in 110 years, at current consumption levels, and three times the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia." The USA currently has enough already identified oil to sustain it for any foreseeable future. And yet — as men and women of corrupt nature are inclined to do — we are disallowed by the Democrat-run Congress from doing anything to get to it. We are told by these "leaders" that it will take 10 years for us to see any results.

Note: This "10-year scenario" is the same argument Democrats and other liberals have used for the past 20-30 years. Suffice it to say, had we done something 20 years ago we'd be enjoying the results today. However, with technological advances, many experts now advise that drilling could begin in 1-2 years — not 10. And, by the way, all of those 'new and improved alternate fuel technologies' will take at least 10 years to develop and few-to-none have yet to be proved viable. Are those of you who voted Democrat in 2006 happy yet?

However, Reid and Senate Democrats are not the only ones blocking all attempts for American energy independence. Reid's partner in crime House Majority leader Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly blocked any energy bills from reaching the House floor for a vote. Instead, Democrat leaders and a few misguided liberal Republicans continue to dig their heels into the sand and deny the USA its own rights to its own resources while Congress offers the county no other choice but to send billions of oil dollars overseas — dollars that are used to support extreme and opulent princely lifestyles and terrorism. Why would they do this to their own country? Money and power — and lots of it!

Contrary to popular belief, it is the far-Left — not Republicans — that has deeper pockets to fund its Congressional 'yes men and women.' Communism and Socialism have always been lucrative for those at the top. Why do you think they are such popular ideologies amongst the corrupt and those who strongly wish to be corrupted? It is the great unwashed masses — AKA proletariat — who suffer, not prosper, under these doctrines. Room at the top is strictly regulated — as well as the lives of We-the-People — by a few individuals who benefit from these dogmas.

These have become increasingly dire times, folks. The only way to stop it and return to the sanity of growth, prosperity and the pursuit of happiness is to vote out the bums who are putting obstacles in the way of our achieving them. More importantly, its time we voted only for those dedicated to placing our county back on the right track — and not the track leading to even more oppression. Please, let's not repeat the 2006 debacle.

Sher Zieve

Sher Zieve is an author and political commentator. Zieve's op-ed columns are widely carried by multiple internet journals and sites, and she also writes hard news. Her columns have also appeared in The Oregon Herald, Dallas Times, Sacramento Sun, in international news publications, and on multiple university websites. Sher is also a guest on multiple national radio shows.